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Artificial intelligence (AI) first made its entry into higher education in the form of paraphrasing tools. These tools were used to take passages that were copied from sources, and through various methods, disguised the original text to avoid academic integrity violations. At first, these tools were not very good and produced nearly incomprehensible output. However, through the use of generative artificial intelligence and natural language processing, the current engines supporting these tools have become better and more efficient at producing quality output. Recently, the artificial intelligence research company, OpenAI, developed a groundbreaking artificial intelligence engine to drive a conversational chat frontend application called ChatGPT. Backed by an expansive knowledge base that could rival any university library in volume, this AI-driven conversational application can produce well-written, seemingly academic, responses to questions. This paper examines text-based artificial intelligence tools that can be used for both ethical and unethical purposes and what simple methods can be used to recognize AI-generated output whose use may indicate plagiarism.

Social scientists should be more deliberate in how they define and measure government efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The authors highlight key distinctions among three dimensions of climate policy: the commitments made by governments, the actions that governments take, and the outcomes they produce. In turn, the authors detail the challenges of measuring these dimensions, and discuss the tradeoffs of alternative measurement strategies, including how well they meet the accepted standards for measurement validity. The authors also identify promising avenues for further research.

High-throughput sequencing-based methods for bulked segregant analysis (BSA) allow for the rapid identification of genetic markers associated with traits of interest. BSA studies have successfully identified qualitative (binary) and quantitative trait loci (QTLs) using QTL mapping. However, most require population structures that fit the models available and a reference genome. Instead, high-throughput short-read sequencing can be combined with BSA of k-mers (BSA-k-mer) to map traits that appear refractory to standard approaches. This method can be applied to any organism and is particularly useful for species with genomes diverged from the closest sequenced genome. It is also instrumental when dealing with highly heterozygous and potentially polyploid genomes without phased haplotype assemblies and for which a single haplotype can control a trait. Finally, it is flexible in terms of population structure. Here, we apply the BSA-k-mer method for the rapid identification of candidate regions related to seed spot and seed size in diploid potato. Using a mixture of F1 and F2 individuals from a cross between 2 highly heterozygous parents, candidate sequences were identified for each trait using the BSA-k-mer approach. Using parental reads, we were able to determine the parental origin of the loci. Finally, we mapped the identified k-mers to a closely related potato genome to validate the method and determine the genomic loci underlying these sequences. The location identified for the seed spot matches with previously identified loci associated with pigmentation in potato. The loci associated with seed size are novel. Both loci are relevant in future breeding toward true seeds in potato.

The purpose of this design case was to document rigorously the process and decisions made during the development of a five-day, pre-semester virtual orientation for International Graduation Teaching Assistants (IGTAs) and their domestic counterparts, teaching in an English as a Second Language Composition (ESLC) Program of a large land-grant university. The design was grounded in a front-end analysis as well as a theoretical framework comprising Crenshaw's (1989) Intersectionality and Wenger's (1998) Virtual Community of Practice (VCoP) theory. These theories were leveraged to focus the design on IGTAs' educator identity development and their linguistic and cultural marginalization. VCoP theory provided a practical architecture for the virtual learning environment with its three modes of belonging (i.e., "engagement," "imagination," and "alignment") as well as several enabling structures (i.e., "support," "sponsorship," and "recognition"). The design intended to purposefully engage IGTAs in social practices and dialogue that would support their sense of belonging and educator identity. While significance can be extracted from the pre-planned, explicit alignment of certain design elements with the modes of belonging, precedent can also be derived from elements that emerged during the design process.

In sign languages, gazing towards one's interlocutor is necessary to perceive the language visually. Proficient signers have been found to look at their interlocutor's face, rather than hands, while communicating in ASL. We investigated signers' looks to the face vs. hands while perceiving ASL signs, fingerspelled words, pseudo signs, and fingerspelled pseudowords. Participants' gaze was monitored as they viewed a picture followed by a short, isolated video clip of the corresponding sign or fingerspelled word. We found that participants tended to look at the face more than the hands when perceiving signs vs. pseudosigns, and when perceiving signs vs. fingerspelled words. Age of acquisition did not significantly impact gaze patterns. Results suggest that sign perceivers actively adjust their allocation of gaze based on the perceptual demands of the input.

Conversations between people are characterized by complex nonlinear combinations of nonverbal and neurocognitive responses complementing the words that are spoken. New tools are needed to integrate these multimodal components into coherent models of conversation. We present a study and analysis pipeline for integrating multimodal measures of conversation. Data were collected using video recordings and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), a portable neuroimaging technology, during dyadic conversations among strangers (N=70 dyads). Rather than running discrete analyses of neural and nonverbal data, we introduce a pipeline to combine time series data from each modality into multimodal deep neural networks (DNNs) – including channel-based fNIRS signals and OpenFace data that quantifies facial expressions over time – using S2S-RNN-Autoencoders. We explored two measures to examine the resulting t-SNE space: distance and synchrony. We found that across the dimensions integrating neural and nonverbal input features, conversing dyads tend to stay closer together than permuted pairs. Dyads exhibit significantly higher synchrony in their covariation in this space compared to permuted pairs. The results suggest a mixed methodological integration may contribute to a deeper understanding of the dynamics of communication.

Sejal M Bhavsar,1 Nisha Polavarapu,2 Emery Haley,3 Natalie Luke,3 Mohit Mathur,4 Xiaofei Chen,5 Jim Havrilla,5 David Baunoch,6 Kenneth Lieberman7 1Department of Pediatric Infectious Disease, Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack, NJ, USA; 2Department of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack, NJ, USA; 3Department of Clinical Research, Pathnostics, Irvine, CA, USA; 4Department of Medical Affairs, Pathnostics, Irvine, CA, USA; 5Department of Bioinformatics, Pathnostics, Irvine, CA, USA; 6Department of Research and Development, Pathnostics, Irvine, CA, USA; 7Department of Pediatric Nephrology, Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack, NJ, USACorrespondence: David Baunoch, Pathnostics, 15545 Sand Canyon Suite 100, Irvine, CA, 92618, USA, Tel +1-714-966-1221, Fax +1-714-966-1231, Email dbaunoch@pathnostics.comObjective: To establish the noninferiority of the rapid and sensitive multiplex polymerase chain reaction (M-PCR) method versus standard urine culture (SUC) in pediatric urinary tract infection (UTI) diagnostic testing.Methods: A United States of America (USA)-based single-center prospective observational study of 44 female and four male patients aged 3– 21 years old presenting to a Pediatric Emergency Department in New Jersey with clinically suspected UTI. Urine specimens were primarily collected via midstream voiding. Patients with antibiotic exposure within the week prior to presentation were excluded. Patient demographic data, clinical manifestations, and urinalysis results were recorded. Noninferiority testing comparing M-PCR and SUC was conducted using a method for paired binary data, with a noninferiority margin set at 5%. Noninferiority was concluded if the lower bound of the 95% confidence interval of the difference in detection rates between M-PCR and SUC lies entirely to the right of the value minus the noninferiority margin. All statistical calculations were performed using Python 3.10.12.Results: The two methods were concordant in two-thirds of cases. Of the 14 M-PCR-positive/SUC-negative discordant specimens, 13 (93%) contained a fastidious and/or emerging uropathogen (A. urinae, A. schaalii, G. vaginalis, C. riegelii, U. urealyticum, Viridans group Streptococci (VGS), and/or Coagulase-negative Staphylococci (CoNS)). Neither symptom presentation nor urinalysis results differed significantly between participants with concordant positive results for UTI diagnosis and those with concordant negative results (non-UTI group).Conclusion: In this pediatric population, similar to previous findings in an older adult population, M-PCR established not only noninferiority but also superiority over SUC in detecting microorganisms in the urine.Keywords: symptoms, urinalysis, UTI, SUC, M-PCR, Guidance UTI

Abstract Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), also known as Long-COVID, encompasses a variety of complex and varied outcomes following COVID-19 infection that are still poorly understood. We clustered over 600 million condition diagnoses from 14 million patients available through the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C), generating hundreds of highly detailed clinical phenotypes. Assessing patient clinical trajectories using these clusters allowed us to identify individual conditions and phenotypes strongly increased after acute infection. We found many conditions increased in COVID-19 patients compared to controls, and using a novel method to associate patients with clusters over time, we additionally found phenotypes specific to patient sex, age, wave of infection, and PASC diagnosis status. While many of these results reflect known PASC symptoms, the resolution provided by this unprecedented data scale suggests avenues for improved diagnostics and mechanistic understanding of this multifaceted disease.

Parents tend to play a vital role in their child's motor competence for youth with visual impairments. However, little research has explored parental mindsets and support (e.g., transportation) surrounding their child's motor skills and how it may predict motor competence. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which parents' mindset items along with parental support may predict their children's actual motor competence. Parents of youth with visual impairments (N = 92; mothers = 69.5%, fathers = 18.1%; M[subscript age] = 42.91 years, SD = 8.08 years) completed the modified parents' perception questionnaire. Youth with visual impairments ages 9-19 years (N = 95; M[subscript age] = 153.35 months, SD = 27.58 months, girls = 37.1%, boys = 53.3%, 9.6% missing) completed the Test of Gross Motor Development-third edition. Results from a backward linear regression convey parental beliefs (i.e., growth mindsets) and support variables (e.g., providing transportation) significantly predicted their child's actual motor competence, F(6, 84) = 9.77, p < 0.001, adj. R[superscript 2] = 0.37. Results could inform parents on their importance toward supporting and believing in developing their child's motor competence.

Physical activity (PA) is important for fitness and psychological health, and a way for young people to make friends and socialise. Young people with vision impairment (VI) are, however, are less likely to engage in PA. A range of personal, social, and environmental barriers prevent equitable participation for young people with VI. There is a dearth of research focused on the experiences of young people with VI and their participation in PA in Australia. Using the "Physical Activity Barriers Questionnaire for children with Visual Impairments" (PABQ-VI), this study identified barriers to PA from the perspectives of school-aged Australians with VI. Results demonstrated that despite holding positive views about PA and being motivated to be physically active, participants experienced many of the same barriers and lack of opportunities reported by children with VI around the world. These experiences place limits on the development of motor skills and impact self-confidence. Despite the swathe of legislation designed to protect the rights of people with disability, the findings suggest that there is much work to be done to create inclusive opportunities for youth with VI (particularly girls) to access PA and sport in Australian schools and communities.